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How to get the attention of Princess excursion management?


gospelle
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Here's the situation:

 

Cruises going to Hawaii this fall (specifically mine, the Emerald Princess) had a bunch of Volcano Exploration excursions that visited, among other things, Volcanos National Park. Due to the eruption this summer most of the park was closed to the public with no timeline for re-opening in sight. I suspect Princess got tired of people calling them asking why they were selling excursions that were to visit places that were closed and so several weeks ago they removed all those excursions from the website.

 

Well, wouldn't you know, the volcano abruptly and unexpectedly stopped erupting almost immediately after they removed the excursions. After much time without volcanic activity, and some repairs to facilities, a decent portion of Volcanos National Park will reopen to the public on Saturday (2 days from now). My ship departs in 2 weeks and arrives in Hilo in 3 weeks from now.

 

How can the powers that be at Princess who are responsible for excursions be alerted to the reopening of the park and encouraged to reinstate the excursions? I mean, the volcano is THE attraction on the big island and the reason many people want to visit this port (myself included).

 

Other questions.. Who are "the powers that be"? Is it done by someone on each individual ship or by some suit at head office? Do any of those folks frequent these boards and if so, does anyone know their Cruise Critic username?

 

Thanks,

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Well, wouldn't you know, the volcano abruptly and unexpectedly stopped erupting almost immediately after they removed the excursions. After much time without volcanic activity, and some repairs to facilities, a decent portion of Volcanos National Park will reopen to the public on Saturday (2 days from now). My ship departs in 2 weeks and arrives in Hilo in 3 weeks from now. ,

 

In general, Princess doesn't actually provide the excursion, they simply contract with a local vendor to provide it.

 

With the current changes, I would think there are lots of local vendors looking for customers.

 

Perhaps you could contact one of them, rather than hoping Princess will take action?

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They may still be dealing with the tour operators who may have had to change tour descriptions if not everything is available. Princess is very careful to accurately describe the tours and any changes to the descriptions have to be carefully checked.

 

 

If they don't post before you sail, check with the excursions desk onboard.

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Having spent time on the Big Island in May when the volcano was erupting and they close the park I can assure you there are many other things to see. Yes they are a big draw but we had a great land trip while there. Things happen beyond anyones control. Either adjust or be unhappy. Your choice. Enjoy your trip.

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I'm with those who suggest contacting private tour companies. Almost certainly less expensive and not a huge group. Another option is to rent a car and do it "on your own". We did the Princess excursion that goes to the visitor center and such. It was a major letdown. We've been to Yellowstone several times and have both Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta quite nearby. If we could have seen hot lava flowing that would have been great but we can't afford the air excursions and, besides, our son can't get out of his wheelchair and climb into a plane. (Actually he can get into some planes but requires a lot of assistance. Despite being a high-functioning quad he does go tandem sky diving. Jumping out of planes was really the only thing he enjoyed about the Army. :))

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We had our Princess excursion to Volcano National Park and Tastes of Hawaii changed to Waterfalls and tastes of Hawaii. The cruise isn't until April 2019, but I had this excursion paid for. There was no notification from Princess when they made the change, I happened to see it in my account. I can fully understand them not going to the national park but they should at least let you know when they completely change the destination of an excursion that has been paid for.

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So, lots of comments that I should look elsewhere or do something else. Totally get that advice, but really not at all answering my questions. I know some of you just love to post things, which is great, but I actually really just want to know if anyone ACTUALLY KNOWS who is responsible for making the decisions on what excursions are used, when they are cancelled, etc..

 

Assuming "I'm sure they are well aware of the opening" is really not my experience dealing with the real world. I find most organizations are filled with a few very knowledgeable people and a whole lot more people who are totally clueless.

 

I'm trying to be proactive and I know that in amongst the thousands of cruise critic folks on these boards, there are a few very knowledgeable people as well who will know exactly who's in charge of this. They are the ones I'd really love to hear from.

 

 

 

Thanks.

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We had our Princess excursion to Volcano National Park and Tastes of Hawaii changed to Waterfalls and tastes of Hawaii. The cruise isn't until April 2019, but I had this excursion paid for. There was no notification from Princess when they made the change, I happened to see it in my account. I can fully understand them not going to the national park but they should at least let you know when they completely change the destination of an excursion that has been paid for.

 

This at least lets me know it's not just my ship. Thanks.

 

Sucks that they changed it without notifying you. That is aggravating.

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They may still be dealing with the tour operators who may have had to change tour descriptions if not everything is available. Princess is very careful to accurately describe the tours and any changes to the descriptions have to be carefully checked.

 

 

If they don't post before you sail, check with the excursions desk onboard.

 

Certainly I'll check with the desk if not resolved by then. Looks like they have been changing people's reservations to different excursions without them knowing so I don't think accurate descriptions are all that important to them. In fact, for my cruise, there is one excursion you can book that has only a title. There is absolutely no description at all.

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a) Call the regular Princess 800 number. Ask the agent to ask thr tour department about this while you wait on the phone.

 

b) Are you 100% sure that the ship will even call in Hilo? If no excursions are available or can be set up by Princess, they may decide to skip the port call, but not announce it until closer to embarkation date.

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